State Department to charge $1 registration fee for Green Card Lottery

The U.S. State Department announced that, starting Oct. 16, every person registering for the Diversity Visa lottery—the program commonly known as the green card lottery—will pay a $1 registration fee. The department said the fee would help cover the costs of the annual lottery and deter fraudulent registrations.

Officials estimate the new fee will raise about $25 million annually and apply to all registrants, regardless of nationality. The changes separate the lottery registration from the visa application, aiming to place the cost on all who stand to benefit from the lottery. The department said the change reflects a 'fairer' approach to administering the program.

Immigration attorneys welcomed the change, arguing that a small registration fee can help deter abuse without deterring legitimate entrants. Michelle Abeckjerr, an immigration attorney who founded Abeckjerr Immigration Law, told the Daily Mail that 'Almost all immigration processes require a fee, so why should this one be any different?' She also noted concerns about payment methods and access in countries with low financial inclusion.

Loren Locke, an immigration attorney and former State Department consular officer, described the fee as 'crucial' for tracing where registrations come from and flagging suspicious patterns. She said the fee-based tracking aligns with a broader U.S. immigration strategy focused on financial documentation and payment verification across visa types to combat fraud and trafficking concerns.

The program permits up to 55,000 diversity visas annually. In 2025, nearly 20 million people registered over 35 days to be considered for a diversity visa, with about 131,060 applicants ultimately successful at the application stage. Top countries by registrations in 2025 included Algeria, Egypt, Sudan, Iran, Russia and Uzbekistan. Those selected to apply for a diversity visa will still pay a $330 application fee.

Since 2007, about 1 million immigrants have received a green card each year on average, excluding pandemic years, according to Pew Research Center. The fee change comes as the Trump administration also moved to widen costs for certain work visas, signing an executive order imposing a $100,000 one-time fee for H-1B visa applicants. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the new H-1B cost applies only to new visas, not renewals or current holders.